Fear in a Hat

Set an
appropriate tone, e.g., settled, attentive, caring and serious.

The tone could be set by introducing the topic of fear and explaining how
it is normal and natural at this stage of program that people are
experiencing all sorts of anxieties, worries and fears about what might
happen. A good way of starting to deal with these fears is have them
openly acnkowledged - lay them on the table, without being subject to
ridicule. Having one's fears expressed and heard almost immediately
cuts them in half.

Can be done as the
first activity in a program, during the initial stages or well into the
program. When used early on in particular, it can help to foster
group support and be helpful for alerting the group to issues they may
want to respect in a Full Value
Contract.

Ask everyone,
including the group leaders, to complete this sentence on a piece of paper
(anonymously):
"In this trip/group/program, I am [most] afraid that..." or "In this
trip/group/program, the worst thing that could happen to me would be..."

Collect the pieces
of paper, mix them around, then invite each person to a piece of paper and
read about someone's fear.

One by one, each
group member reads out the fear of another group member and elaborates and
what he/she feels that person is most afraid of in this group/situation.
No one is to comment on what the person says, just listen and move on to
the next person.

If the reader
doesn't elaborate much on the fear, then ask them one or two questions.
Avoid implying or showing your opinion as to the fear being expressed,
unless the person is disrepecting or completely misunderstanding someone's
fear. If the person doesn't elaborate after one or two questions,
leave it and move on.

When all the fears
have been read out and elaborated on, then discuss what people felt and
noticed.

Can lead into other
activities, such as developing a Full Group Contract, personal or team
goal settings, course briefings which specifically tackle some of the
issues raised, or into other activities in which participants explore
their feelings and fears (e.g., see the
Fear in a Hat
description at www.nurturingpotential.net)

Variations

Likes and
dislikes - in two separate hats

Worries

Complaints/gripes

Wishes

Favorite moments

Equipment:
Paper and pen/pencil per participant; Hat, tin or bag.

Time:
~5 minutes + 1-2 minutes per participant, e.g., 15-20 minutes for a group
of 10.

Brief description:People write personal fears anonymously on pieces of paper which are
collected. Then each person reads someone else's fear to group and
explains how the person might feel.